Cryptic crossword clue
Nancy’s old serving man turned up to frame painting 5

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word POILU

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
P
O
I
L
U

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The straight part
We know that "Nancy’s old serving man" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case nancy’s old serving man = poilu.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does POILU mean?

POILU noun
  1. A French infantryman during the First World War

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